


Catfish: The TV Show Bucky & Grant

by Werewolfinthetardis



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Brief mention of war, Catfishing, Lies, M/M, some ptsd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 17:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10949067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Werewolfinthetardis/pseuds/Werewolfinthetardis
Summary: Bucky Barnes, a veteran from Indiana, is madly in love with Grant, an artist from Brooklyn. Despite his best attempts, Bucky can't get his boyfriend of seven years to FaceTime or even meet up with him. With the help of Nev and Max, can they figure out the truth about Grant, or will Bucky be left broken-hearted?





	Catfish: The TV Show Bucky & Grant

“Oink oink oink oink” Max had his finger pushing up his nose.

Nev started snorting back.

“I think at this point we can forget the pigs and make a catfish farm.” Max laughed as he sat next to Nev.

“Is that like salmon? Farm raised or wild?” Nev pondered out loud.

“I think we only deal with wild catfish.”

“Not the down on the farm catfish from Kentucky?” Nev joked in a bad south twang.

“And on that note…” Max said ending Nev’s horrible accent. The two friends barked out a laugh. “Let’s catch us some wild catfish!”

“Ok what do we have today?” Nev questioned as he pulled up the emails. “Listen to this subject, Bucky the Broken.”

“Dear Nev and Max,

My name is Bucky and I’m 25. I live in Shelbyville, Indiana and I’m hopelessly in love. His name is Grant and he’s the only person in my life that makes me feel safe. I started talking to Grant on Myspace when I was 18. For the past 7 years it felt like we were inseparable but lately I’m feeling desperate. We’ve been through everything together, including a war, but now it’s to the point where I need to meet him or move on. I’ve been asking for weeks now to video chat or meet up with no luck. I’ve even offered to fly out to Brooklyn but everytime I bring it up he shoots me down. His excuses range from his phone doesn’t have FaceTime, to he’s too busy, or things are too weird right now. I don’t want to give up on Grant but I don’t want to waste anymore of my life. Can you please help me in any way?

-Bucky Barnes.”

“Wow this poor guy.”

“I know 7 years. He could’ve been a doctor at that rate.” Max offered.

Nev laughed. “He sounds like he’s at the end of the rope. I want to help him out.”

“Lets call him!”

The two hosts pulled up skype and connected with Bucky.

“Hey!” Nev and Max said in unison.

“Hey! Thanks for reading my email!” Bucky was all smiles.

“Wow you’re like really handsome!” Max admitted.

Bucky blushed and shook his head. “Thank you!” Bucky brushed his hair behind his ears.

“Stop flirting, he’s emotionally taken.” Nev turned from Max back to the webcam. “So tell us about Grant!”

Bucky took a deep breath. “Grant is…” His face lit up and his shoulders pulled back. “Such a punk.” He laughed at himself. “I don’t know what it is but he just makes me so happy. If I’m having a crap day he grounds me and makes me feel like everything I have to say is important. He gets me without really trying which is rare ya know? He’s been there with me through the worst times in my life. He’s feisty and stubborn but beautiful.” Bucky blushed and looked away from the camera.

“Have you two talked on the phone or anything?”

“We have talked on the phone I think three or four times? And that was years ago.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“I’m so gone for him it’s not even funny. When I think of my future I think of us. I’m at the point in my life where I’m ready to take steps to start a family and settle down and I think he could be that guy.”

“Well I think we’ve heard enough. Are you cool if we fly out to Indiana and help you track down Grant?”

“Yes! Thank you!”

“Alright Bucky we’ll see you soon.” The two hosts waved.

“Bye” Bucky waved back with a smile from ear to ear.

\---

Nev and Max were doing the robot on the escalator in the airport in slow motion. They walked through the gate to the airplane. Both guys tapped the plane before they boarded. The two men sat down and got adjusted for the flight. Max put on a sleep mask and reared his teeth then snapped at the camera.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Nev laughed into the camera.

\---

Nev was driving Max to go meet Bucky.

“I feel bad for this guy.” Max admitted looking at the nothingness pass by.

“Seven years is a really long time.”

“And he’s so in love. Did you see his face? I want this to work out for him.”

“I know but we have to be real about this situation.”

“We’ll just have to get down to the bottom of this because he deserves the truth.” Nev nodded in agreement with Max.

\---

The two men pulled up to Bucky’s house. They got out of their car and knocked on the door.

Bucky pulled open the door. “Hey! Come on in!”

The men did their introductions.

Bucky lead them to the living room and they all sat down.

“So why don’t you tell us about you and Grant.” Nev asked.

“Start from the beginning.” Max added.

“I met Grant on Myspace when I was 18 years old. I forget exactly what I was looking at, but I saw some of his art and instantly was blown away. So I started following him and he quickly gave me a follow back. After commenting on his pictures a few times we got to talking and it’s been non stop ever since.”

“When did it turn to love?”

“I fell in love with him after our first phone call. It was about 6 months into us talking. He was just funny and sarcastic. Talking to him made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. And I knew. Like this guy is incredible and I want to be with him. And it went on from there. He even supported me when I came out to my family.”

“So he’s been that one constant?” Max asked.

“Yes exactly! I didn’t have to be brave because Grant was always there.”

“Have you two talked about getting together or moving closer?” Nev questioned.

“At first we didn’t. We didn’t even say I love you to each other till I was about to be deployed to Afghanistan.”

“How old were you then?” Nev asked

“I was 20. I had called him because I was scared out of my mind and he wasn’t happy that I had even enlisted. It was a really rough time. Both my parents had been killed in a car accident earlier in the year, I was a complete failure at school and dropped out. The army felt like the only thing that could make me feel like I wasn’t a failure.”

“Did you two keep talking during that time?” 

“Yeah Grant was incredible actually. He made me care packages at least once a month. He would write me letters and draw me pictures.”

Bucky handed over a stack of pencil drawings of Grant and Bucky together doing different things. There were portraits of Grant and Bucky as well. 

“He said since we couldn’t be together in person we would have to be together in our dreams. He drew these when he would wake up each morning. We had this whole fictitious love life while I was in the army to help get me through. And then…” Bucky trailed off and his eyes began to water.

“It’s ok. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Bucky wiped away a tear. “No it’s ok. It’s a part of my life. It needs to be told.” He took a deep breath. “One day we were out on patrol and an IED later...three of my best friends are dead and I’m waking up disoriented in a world of pain and missing an arm.”

The three of them sat in silence for a minute waiting for Bucky to gather his thoughts and strength.

“We didn’t...I didn’t talk to Grant for a while after that. I was being moved from hospital to hospital and had multiple surgeries. Then when I was finally home I was in rehab and I spiraled into a horrible depression.” Bucky took a few minutes to get the next part out. “So when we started talking again I wasn’t myself and it wasn’t a relationship.”

“That makes sense. Was he upset by that?”

“I told him I couldn’t be there for him when I wasn’t a person myself.” Bucky took a deep breath and started lose control of his emotions. “It was horrible how I felt but Grant just said that he loved me and would always be there. And he was. We still talked. He didn’t put any pressure on me. He was just there for me the way I needed when I had to relearn how to be myself.”

“That’s incredible. He sounds like a good guy.” Nev beamed.

“He’s the best...the absolute best.”

“So are you guys back on the romantic side or friend side?” Max asked raising his eyebrows.

“We are on the romantic side. It took a lot of therapy but last year I shifted things back to the romantic side. I’m ready to start my life with him”

“Now during all of this did he send you any real pictures or just the ones he drew?”

“He’s never sent me a real picture. He had some on his Myspace. He’s this little blond with piercing blue eyes, maybe 100lbs soaking wet. He told me he had a lot of medical issues so he wasn’t much of a fella but I don’t care about that. I think he’s perfect.”

“Is that his reason for not sending you pictures or skyping?”

“Probably but he says that he only has a flip phone so he doesn’t take pictures.”

“A flip phone!?” Max asked in surprise.

“Right?! I was ready to ask if he was still on dial up too.” Bucky sassed and the group all laughed.

“Have you sent him pictures?”

“I’ve sent him a couple selfies.”

“Nothing risque?” Nev asked.

Bucky barked out a laugh “No...no.”

“Are you sure?” Max asked goading him on.

Bucky blushed. “I swear! It’s hard to take dick pics with one arm.” Bucky laughed and put his head in his hand.

The group all broke up laughing again. “Fair enough” Max admitted.

“Well we definitely want to help out. You’ve been through so much, this is the least we can do.” Nev added.

“Thank you!”

“Can you get us all the information you have on him?”

“Sure.” Bucky stood up and got some things together.

“We will go play super sleuth and we will let you know what we find!”

“Thank you I appreciate this!”

\---

“Alright so let's try and figure Grant out.” Nev commanded as he put his coffee down on the table in the coffee shop.

“There’s just so many pieces that don’t add up with this guy.”

“Like not sending any pictures that weren’t on that Myspace or even having a Facebook.”

“And only having a flip phone. That’s a straight up lie.” Max added

“Unless he uses a burner phone.”

“What mid twenties male doesn’t have a real phone? Let’s be real here Nev.”

Nev put his hands up in defense. “I’m just saying these are possibilities. I’m not saying I agree but I’m just saying stranger things have happened.”

“Alright let’s start with the pictures.”

“Drag and drop...and”

“Nothing. Just his old Myspace.” Max mumbled with a defeated tone.

“We still have a few more.” Nev continued to reverse Google search the images.

“Nothing again.” They tried several pictures but it led nowhere.

“Ok so the pictures must be Grant because they only show up on his Myspace, that’s a good sign.” Nev was upbeat about the facts.

“That still doesn’t explain the issue that the guy has no new pictures in seven years. Is he a hermit?”

Nev tilted his head in agreement. “Well let’s run the phone number and see what we get.”

Nev clicked a few links and typed in the phone number.

“Woah!” The hosts said in unison.

“I was not expecting that.”

“The number is registered to a Natasha Romanov in Brooklyn.”

“Same area but completely different name.”

“Maybe it’s one of his relatives?”

“Yeah but Bucky said Grant’s last name is Wilson.”

“Maybe his Aunt married a russian?” Nev tried to explain.

“You always have to play devil’s advocate don’t you?”

“I have to hope for the best Max.” He said playfully.

“What if we search for some of his artwork. Maybe he’s posted it elsewhere?”

Nev clapped his hands and pointed at Max. “That is the best idea you’ve ever had...might’ve been the only one…” Max smacked the back of his head and the two friends laughed. Nev clicked a few things.

“Look a match.” Max pointed at the screen. “This looks promising.” 

“It’s an instagram post for Natasha!” Nev almost sang her name.

“No way! What’s it say?”

“Being shown at The Stark Gallery. #proud”

“Wow that’s actually pretty impressive.”

“What if we call the gallery and see if they can get us a number and see if it matches?”

“Perfect.” Nev Googled the information and dialed the number listed.

“The Stark Gallery, Darcy speaking.”

“Hi! My name is Nev and I work on a show you might of heard of called Catfish.”

“Let me stop you there Nev, those are my pictures and my boobs are that big! Which one of those fools has you hunting me down?”

“Um actually we aren’t calling about you or any boob photos...I’m actually helping out a veteran named Bucky who is dating an artist named Grant.”

“Oh.”

“Long story short do you have any artists named Grant Wilson that were shown in your gallery about two years ago?”

“Not that I am aware of.”

“Ok what about a Natasha Romanov?”

“Oh I know her!”

“You do?” Nev was shocked.

“Yes. She’s the only woman besides me that can scare a man with half a glance.”

Nev broke out laughing. “And did she have a painting called City Lights shown around two years ago?”

“I don’t remember the painting but I do know she was around here during that time.”

“Do you happen to have any contact information for her?”

“Hold on a second.” Nev could hear her fidgeting around her desk and then typing something. “I don’t have anything right now. But if you give me your contact information I can reach out and get it for you.”

“If you could that would be amazing my number is 866-740-4531”

“I will get that information for you.”

“Thank you! And Darcy?”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t let me have to make an episode about you.”

Darcy laughed a hearty laugh through the phone. “You would be so lucky to see what I get up to online.” And with that Darcy hung up.

“Wow.”

“So what did you find out?” Max was anxious from what he heard.

“Well besides a future episode from a voluptuous woman named Darcy, just that Natasha Romanov was in the Stark Gallery two years ago.”

“What!? So Grant might actually be this Natasha woman?”

“It’s looking that way.” Nev said slightly disappointed.

“Bucky’s going to be devastated. I really wanted this one to work out!”

Nev let out a sigh. “Unfortunately I don’t think there’s much more we can do tonight. Why don’t we get some sleep and we can break the news to Bucky in the morning.”

The two hosts stood up and packed their stuff. When they made it back to their hotel and got in bed neither one felt good about what they had to tell Bucky.

\---

Nev jumped on Max’s bed. “Time to get up.” Max groaned and rolled over. “That’s not going to stop me.”

“Go back to bed. It’s too early.”

“No we need to go tell Bucky what we found.”

“Ugh do we have to. I don’t want to be the one to break his heart.”

“We don’t know for sure and you’re the one who said he needs to know the truth.”

Max just responded by throwing a pillow at Nev.  
\---

Nev knocked on the door.

“Hey!” Bucky answered. His body was brimming with anxious energy.

“How was your night?” Max asked.

“Oh I know that look. You guys don’t have good news.”

“What do you mean?”

“Last time I saw a look like that the nurse told me that my arm was infected and they might have to remove more of it.”

Both hosts eyes widen. Neither one knew what to say.

“Um...well...it’s not all bad news.” Nev tried to make it more positive.

Bucky rolled his eyes as he sat down. The two hosts followed suit. Bucky gave them a ‘go ahead’ look.

“The first thing we did was look for more of Grant’s pictures but we couldn’t find them anywhere.” Bucky had a tight lipped face. “Which is a good sign. Usually that means that it’s his actual profile. 

“But we also don’t have any new pictures to go off of for the past seven years.” Max added.

“That’s also true.”

“Ok…” Bucky said like he was waiting for the point.

“We also ran his phone number and it came back that it’s owned by a Natasha Romanov.” Nev looked to see if Bucky would have a reaction however he didn’t. “Do you know that name?”

“Never heard it.”

“Natasha is in Brooklyn so we thought maybe she could be Grant’s Aunt or something.”

“I doubt it.”

“Why?” Max asked.

“Because he’s an orphan. His Dad died when he was still a baby and his mother died when he finished high school...unless he was lying about all that. He always said he didn’t really have family.”

“We aren’t sure who she is. So Max had the idea to look for Grant’s art maybe it would give us a recent photo or something more to work with. When we searched for this photo it led us back to this instagram.” Nev pulled it up on the computer. “It’s for Natasha.”

“Fuck…” Bucky was starting to realize Grant might not be Grant.

“If you read the caption it says that it’s being shown at the Stark Gallery so we called them. We spoke to a woman there and she didn’t know any artists named Grant however she was very familiar with Natasha. She was in the gallery around two years ago when this painting was shown.”

“We don’t know for certain but it looks like Grant might be Natasha.”

Bucky’s shoulders hunched. He turned his head and his focus seemed a million miles away. 

“When you spoke to Grant on the phone was it a high pitched voice?” Nev asked.

“No it was deeper than mine.” Confusion evident in his voice

“Do you think it was a voice a woman could’ve mimicked?”

“I wouldn’t say yes but clearly I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“So what I want to do now is reach out to Grant on the number you have and see if we can get him...or her to meet with us. Are you still interested in that?” Nev gave Bucky a small smile.

“Yeah. I am.” Bucky’s voice was meager.

“Ok I’m going to call.”

Nev walked out of the house on onto the front porch. Bucky was inside with his head leaning on his hand. His stomach was in his throat. Max was sitting next to him worried for the outcome of the call.

Nev took a deep breath and dialed the number.

“Hello?” The deep manly voice asked.

“Hi is this Grant?”

There was an awkward pause. “Um...yeah?” Nev was concerned that it was more of a question than a statement.

“Hi my name's Nev and I work on a show that you might of heard of called Catfish.”

“Yeah I’ve seen a couple episodes.”

“Good so you know what we do. I’m currently helping a young veteran named Bucky who you’ve been talking to for seven years.”

“Yeah…?” It was barely audible.

“Bucky is at a bit of a crossroads in his life right now and he’s interested in meeting you. I don’t want to speak on behalf of Bucky but he needs to know what’s going on between you two so he can figure out his life. After seven years I think he deserves to know the truth about your relationship.”

“I guess.”

“So are you in Brooklyn?”

“Yeah…”

“Do you have some free time in the next few days where we could come out and meet you face to face.”

“Uhm...yeah. I think that could work.”

“Ok well why don’t you text me an address where we can meet up and we will all fly out tomorrow?”

“Ok.”

“Alright we will see you soon!”

“Bye.”

“Bye!” Nev hung up the phone and he shook his head in disbelief. He opened the door and made his way into the living room. “He’s willing to meet you. He’s going to text us some details but he wants to meet you.”

“What else did he say?” Max asked indignantly. He was upset that Bucky was hurting over this.

“Not much. You said when you talked to him he was sarcastic and stuff?”

“Yeah he’s snarky.”

“Ok cause he barely was responding. Maybe he’s nervous?”

“Or just some pathetic woman pretending to be.” Bucky shook his head and the tears started falling. Max rubbed Bucky’s back as he sat there silently crying. “Why would someone do this to me? I was nothing but supportive through all their family issues which now might not even be real. I feel so stupid. I’m a good guy. I’m not perfect but I put myself out there for once in my life and it turns into this. I don’t get it.” He fell apart.

“What Grant or Natasha or whoever this is did...it isn’t a reflection of you. You are a great guy who has a big heart and opened it to someone who may not deserve it. What they are doing to you is not your fault.” Nev said trying his best to comfort Bucky. “You fell in love and that’s never stupid. It’s being human. Everyone here and everyone that watches this will agree with me when I say that you deserve to be treated better than this.”

“Thanks…” Bucky mumbled as he wiped the tears from his face.

“Why don’t you start packing so when we meet Grant we can get those answers you deserve.”

“Yeah...ok.” Bucky stood up still clearing his face. Bucky made his way to his room and the two hosts followed. The door closed and his sobs were muffled.

\---

Bucky approached Nev and Max at the airport.

“Look at this model in those shades!” Nev called out and Bucky struck a pose. Bucky was wearing the glasses because he had been crying off and on through the night.

The group all took turns posing and taking selfies.

“Hastag modeling with my bitches” Max said with a laugh.

The trio made their way through the gate and tapped the plane as they boarded. 

“Next stop NYC!” Max called out.

The other two cheered in their seats.

\---  
Nev was driving with Bucky in the passenger seat and Max in back.

“How are you feeling?” Max asked holding the handheld camera.

“Like my stomach is about to fall out of my ass.” Bucky was pale with his head leaning on the closed window.

“Do you know what you’re going to say when you see him or her?” Nev asked.

“I have a million things I want to say or ask but I think I just need to understand why.”

“Hopefully we can get you that answer and some peace.”

“I’ve been through worse I can get through this…” Bucky was speaking more to himself than anyone else.

“Has Grant texted you at all?”

“Not since before Nev called him...or her.” Bucky’s voice dripped with disdain when he said the last part.

\---

The group pulled up to the apartment.

“You ready or do you need more time? Because we can wait...” Nev asked concerned about the veteran’s welfare.

“No let’s go before I lose my nerve.” 

The trio got out of the car. “You guys want to stand here while I ring his apartment?” 

Bucky nodded. He didn’t trust himself to open his mouth right now. Nev walked up the stairs and hit the buzzer for the apartment number Grant had texted.

Bucky shuffled from side to side. He was suddenly wondering how Grant would look at his missing arm. His stomach was churning and his nerves were frayed.

The door opened to a wall of muscle. Bucky was in shock. “Is that Grant’s bodyguard?” Bucky asked Max who laughed. After a brief moment Nev and the tall blond walked down the stairs to Bucky and Max.

“Uh...Hi I’m Grant.” The Blond put out his hand.

Bucky looked at Nev with a confused face then stared at Grant’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you?” They shook hands for a couple seconds then pulled apart. Bucky was beyond confused. The man in front of his was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly buff. What happened to the skinny little kid he fell in love with?

The two stood there in an awkward silence staring at each other.

“Ok so Bucky I know you had some questions for Grant here.” Nev said interrupting the silence. 

“Um before you start.” Grant was scratching the back of his neck and was looking down at the ground.

“What?” Bucky asked after a quick pause.

Grant looked up with his blue eyes from lowered lashes. “My name isn’t Grant...well it’s my middle name. My name is Steven Grant Rogers but everyone calls me Steve.”

“So you lied about that?” Bucky bit.

“Yeah I did.”

“What else did you lie about cause you certainly don’t look like that that sick little boy you claimed to be.” Bucky’s claws were out.

“That was a long time ago.”

“You’re right it was a long time ago which means you’ve had a long time to tell the truth. You don’t just go from 100lbs of nothing to this.” Bucky pointed at Steve’s very tight shirt.

“I went through some medical procedures.”

“Some? Really? Cause you never mentioned anything to me. I can’t imagine it was quick to go from that to this.” Bucky’s fuse was lit.

“It wasn’t” Steve was holding back.

“What else have you lied about Steve?”

“My job…”

“You said you were an architect.”

“I illustrate comic books and I’m a part time personal trainer.”

“Two jobs so you should be able to afford a real phone not a piece of shit flip phone. Another lie.”

Steve fidgeted before reaching in pocket and pulled out a flip phone.

“Are you kidding me?” Bucky threw up his hand in the air. He then turned to Max “The one thing I wanted to be a fucking lie and it’s the truth.” Max laughed.

“I’m sorry my phone isn’t good enough for you.” Steve was a bit snarky.

“I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I expected someone who said they loved me to actually be honest with me.”

“I’m not perfect Buck but I’m standing here telling you the truth.”

“Seven years too late Steve.” Bucky put the emphasis on the Steve to mock his lies.

“I didn’t agree to have you come over for you to get shitty with me.”

“What the fuck did you expect that I’d just be ok with you lying to me for all these years?”

“Obviously not.”

“Obviously.” Bucky mocked back.

“I don’t need you belittling me when I’m just answering your questions. My day has been complete shit and I don’t need you, of all people, to be a dick to me.”

“What did Abercrombie turn you down from the catalogue?

“Fuck off Bucky! This isn’t easy.”

“No shit cause it’s been such a walk in the park for me?! You’ve been lying to me for years Steve. Years! I can stand here and say I haven’t lied to you. That I’ve been in love with you.”

“I never lied about that!” Steve bursted.

“Love isn’t built on lies! I have very little in my life and I thought I had you!”

“I don’t have much either Buck!”

“That doesn’t excuse what you did to me.”

“It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time.”

“Of course not. Did you even think of how much this would hurt me?”

“No…” 

“Did you ever think of telling me?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“There were a few times.”

“A few times.” Bucky said sarcastically. He turned to Max. “A few times. He loves me so much that he only really wanted to tell me the truth a few times.” Bucky raised his hand again. “I’ve made a lot of stupid decisions in my life but falling for you might’ve been the worst.”

“Don’t say that Buck you know I love you.” Steve looked like his heart had been ripped out.

“No I don’t know Steve because clearly I don’t know you.” Bucky started crying at that.

“You’re not giving me a chance to explain!” Steve yelled.

“As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing left to say. You lied and you thought so little of me you only tried to tell me a few times. What did it pop in your head once a year? Every other year?”

“Look why don’t we take a breather here.” Nev stepped in between the two men. “This is getting ugly fast.”

“No it’s over. I want to go back to the hotel.”

“Give us a second.” Nev told Steve. He grabbed Bucky’s arm and led him further down the street. Steve just kept shifting from foot to foot aimlessly for a moment then went and sat on the steps that led to his apartment. Max walked over to Steve.

“Are you ok?” Nev asked Bucky once they stopped.

“No. How could he not even try to tell me?”

“He’s trying to explain himself but every time he says something you just tear him apart.”

“I can’t help it. I love that asshole and every lie just feels like all of it was a waste of time and it’s killing me.”

“Well if you want Steve still in your life you’re going to have to listen to him. Do you think you can do that?”

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t think you can handle this right now we can leave and I can talk to him or we can try again tomorrow. It’s completely up to you what we do.”

Bucky nodded as he kept walking in small circles unsure what to do.

It took a few minutes but Bucky made up his mind. He walked over to Steve and Max. Nev followed.

“I…” Bucky’s voice cracked. “I...when I woke up.” Bucky stopped and the tears were streaming down his face. It took all the strength he had to keep talking. “I woke up and they told me my left arm was gone. My first thought was how am I going to hug Grant when I get home.” Bucky started sobbing and Steve started crying. Nev and Max looked like they were barely holding it in themselves. Steve stood up and approached Bucky for a hug. “No!” Bucky stepped back and Steve looked like he had been shot in the heart. “No…” Bucky shook his head. “I pulled through losing an arm because of you and how much I loved you. Yet you couldn’t even tell me the truth. You thought so little of me you didn’t even try. Do you know how much this hurts?”

“No…” Steve’s response was barely audible.

“Fuck it hurts to breath.” Bucky panted and he turned and started to walk away. Nev and Max quickly followed.

“Do you need us to call an ambulance?” The producer stepped in.

“No. I’ll be fine can we just go back to the hotel?” He said hunched over.

“Of course.” Nev said. The three men got in the car. Bucky leaned his head on the window and continued sobbing.

Steve rested his head on the stone wall on the stairs. He saw Bucky’s face as they drove past. He had fucked up the only good thing in his life. Steve let himself fall apart.

\---  
Bucky woke up and looked at his phone. He had a few texts. He focused his eyes on the lock screen and saw that several were from Grant...well Steve. Part of him didn’t want to even open up the texts. However curiosity got the best of him.

The first text was a picture of Steve. His eyes looked red like he had been crying and he had bags under his eyes. He was biting his lip and looked very sad and pathetic. The following text said “A HQ pic of your LQ boyfriend” Bucky hated himself for smiling a little bit.

“You’re not my boyfriend.” Bucky shook his head and read the next text. Bucky threw the phone on the bed then slammed his head back down on the pillow.

\---  
Nev and Max knocked on Bucky’s door.

“Morning.” Bucky croaked. He had been awake for a little bit but he was worn out.

“So we wanted to come in and make a game plan with you.” Nev told him.

“Ok.”

“If you want to and only if you want to, we can go see Steve and hear his side of the story today. I know things got a bit emotional.”

“Yeah that was my fault.”

“It’s ok. It’s pretty obvious that you two definitely have very strong and real feelings for each other. And he hurt you which caused you to be angry at him.”

“He texted me this morning.” Bucky admitted.

“What did he say?” Max asked.

Bucky handed his phone to Nev. “HQ pic of your LQ boyfriend.” The three laughed.

“I hate that I liked that.”

“That was pretty good.” Max added.

Then Nev read another text. “I know I hurt you and there aren’t enough sorrys. I’ve never felt worse in my life than what you said right before you left. Please just hear me out and then you can hate me for the rest of my life. But you deserve so much more than this. Please. I do love you even though my actions have said otherwise. I want the chance to be the man you always thought I was.”

“Wow” Nev said in disbelief.

“How does that make you feel?” Max asked looking at Bucky who was on the bed staring out the window.

“After seeing the picture and reading that I feel like I should try to hear him out.”

“Was there something he said that got under your skin to make you go off like that? His lies didn’t seem as complex as we’ve heard before from other catfish.” Max pondered.

“It wasn’t his lies that hurt, it was the fact he lied. He was the only thing that got me through that war and…” His voice started to break up again “and I just lost it. I was back in that bed waking up confused and hurt and scared out of my fucking mind. I was back there yesterday and all that hurt and pain was directed at Steve.”

Max and Nev closed the gap and pulled Bucky into a hug.

“I think that Steve needs to hear that. He knows what you went through but I think it might be good for him and other people to really understand your story.”

“Ok.” Bucky wiped away another tear. 

“We spoke with Steve and he’ll be at his apartment all day waiting for us so we can leave whenever.”

“Let’s go now.” Bucky said standing up and heading to the bathroom. He blew his nose and looked in the mirror. He looked like shit but this was all Steve was getting.

\---

The men pulled up to Steve’s apartment. Nev rang the buzzer and Bucky wished he could’ve been anywhere but here. He loved Steve but he wondered if he had hit the limit or was he more broken that even he had realized.

Steve opened the door and he gave a breathy “Hey.” He locked eyes with Bucky.

“Hey!” Nev and Max said almost at the same time. “Can we come in?”

“Sure, follow me.” The group went up into Steve’s apartment. It was moderately furnished. Across the living room were groups of painted canvas with different people and scenes on them. Each one more impressive than the last. 

“Your work is incredible.” Max admired.

“Thanks.” Steve glanced at Max but he kept looking at Bucky, hoping for a reaction.

“This is the piece we saw from that instagram post.”

Steve gave Nev a confused face.

“Look why don’t we sit down and sort through all of this?”

The group wordlessly took to Steve’s couch and sat in an awkward silence till Nev took charge again.

“I think we can all agree that this has been an incredibly emotional thing for both of you.”

Bucky grunted. Steve just looked at him in confusion.

“Steve are you cool if we” Nev waved his hand between himself and Max “ask you the questions and Bucky chimes in if he feels like it?”

“Yeah that’s fine.”

“Let’s just recap real quick then we’ll move forward. You’re real name is Steve, you do artwork for comics, are a part time trainer, and you have a crappy flip phone.”

“I actually bought an iPhone after you guys left. I figured it would be better for FaceTime since a certain someone that lives in Indiana likes doing that. And I didn’t realize how important it was till yesterday.” Steve wouldn’t look at Bucky but Nev and Max had smirks on their faces.

“That’s good because no one should have a flip phone past 2005” Everyone laughed but Bucky.

“Yesterday you said you had gone through some medical procedures. What did you go through?”

“I had more medical issues than I can list. Luckily for me I accidentally met Howard Stark while I was at school and he thought I was a prime candidate for one of his experimental trials. A year of hell later I was a whole hell of a lot healthier and became friends with his son Tony. Who will be very thankful that I finally got rid of my flip phone after years of him trying”

“When we were looking into your information we noticed that your phone was registered to Natasha Romanov. Who is that?” Nev asked.

“She is one of my best friends. After my mother died I was almost put in foster care because I literally have no family. A guy at my high school heard about my situation and his family took me in. His name is Sam Wilson and he dated Natasha for a while. We are all still very close. She bought the phone for me as a birthday present one year because I couldn’t afford one.”

“Wilson. Is that why you used his last name on Myspace?” Nev asked.

“My mother always said there were a lot of creeps on the internet. So I used my middle name and his last name.” Nev tilted his head as he nodded in agreement.

“Is Natasha an artist as well? Because we found an instagram post with that picture.” Nev pointed over to the corner of the room. “being shown at the Stark Gallery.”

Steve laughed a little and shook his head. “I didn’t want to show my work because I didn’t think it was good enough. Natasha talked to Tony about it when we were all hanging out one day. The two of them got themselves involved in everything and managed to get it shown at the gallery, along with some of my other pieces.”

“You’re so dumb.” Bucky rolled his eyes.

“What?” Steve was shocked.

“Your stuff is amazing Steve. Just admit it once.”

Steve’s smile spread across his face. He felt like he had won the lottery. Bucky actually spoke to him! And it was positive!

“Thank you Buck.”

“Is there anything else you want to say or ask Steve?” Nev asked Bucky.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“Buck no…” Steve started but Bucky cut him off.

“No let me finish. I’m sorry that I reacted badly. What you did was shitty but I over reacted. My anxiety was taking me back to the worst time of my life and it just magnified the situation. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I deserved it. I hate that I made you feel that way.”

“Do you both feel like you could move past this?” Max asked.

“I want to.” Steve said. 

“I’m willing to try. I’m still angry though.”

“That’s fine. You can be mad at me everyday if it means you’ll still talk to me.”

“You’re such a sap.”

“Am I your sap?”

“We’ll see.”

“Can I hug you?”

“I guess.”

The two men stood up and embraced each. Steve was squeezing the life out of Bucky but he didn’t mind. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long” Steve whispered in Bucky’s ear.

“Me too.” Bucky whispered back and tightened his grip.

“I think that Max and I should leave you guys alone for a little bit so you two can talk.” Nev said standing up and already getting ready to leave the room.

Bucky pulled back from Steve to watch the two hosts leave.

“So…” Steve’s voice dropped and said it with a half smile.

“Keep it in your pants Rogers.”

Steve barked out a laugh. “God I’m so glad you’re here.” He pulled Bucky back into a hug. “Sorry.” He let go. “Are we not there yet?”

“I don’t know. I want to be but at the same time I’m not ready.”

“Ok well we can take this as slow as you want.”

“Ok.”

“So are we friends or are we…”

“Are we...?” Bucky asked back.

“More than friends? Or at least on that path? Is it an option? I know I said I was your boyfriend this morning but I’m realizing how presumptuous that is considering everything. Sorry for rambling I’m just nervous and I can’t think right because of how beautiful you are.”

“Steve. Shut up.” Bucky reached out and grabbed his hand. “I can’t promise you anything right now. Why don’t we just take today to be together and we can figure out the details later.”

“Ok.” Steve gave another smile. Bucky was getting addicted to those. “Would you be interested in me taking you out?”

“Yeah I think I can be seen in public with you.”

“Oh thank God I was worried.” Steve pretended to wipe his brow.

\---  
Steve took Bucky to one of his favorite restaurants for lunch. The two sat there talking for hours. It was like all the angst and issues had vanished. When they walked out of the restaurant Steve took Bucky’s hand. For half a second Steve doubted if it was the right move but when Bucky squeezed his hand back he knew it was the best decision he could’ve ever made. 

Steve took Bucky on a tour of his hot spots. The tour ended at dusk with the two men eating ice cream at Brooklyn Bridge Park. 

“The view is beautiful.” Bucky was in awe of the city.

“Yeah it is.” Steve agreed while looking at Bucky.

Bucky turned his head and blushed. 

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Bucky said nudging Steve’s shoulder. He didn’t even flinch that Bucky used his bad arm. That spoke volumes.

The boys finished their ice cream and stood in a comfortable silence watching the city lights turn on. The air chilled and caused Bucky to shiver. Steve didn’t miss a beat. He moved behind Bucky and wrapped his arms around him. Bucky relaxed into Steve.

\---

Nev and Max watched as Steve and Bucky approached hand in hand at the airport.

“Looks like you two cleared the air.” Nev called out.

The two love sick boys both turned red. Nev and Max gave them both hugs. “So what happened? Max asked.

“We hung out in the city and then we hung out at Steve’s place last night.” Bucky made it sound casual.

“Did anything else hang out...of your pants?” Max suggestively raised his eyebrow.

Everyone laughed but two of the people laughed uncomfortably.

“Is that beard burn?” Nev asked turning Steve’s chin to get a better look at his jaw and neck.

Every ounce of Steve’s visible skin went crimson.

“Uh no just razor burn…” Steve cleared his throat.

“I’m sure.” Nev responded like he almost believed him.

“Oh I have something for you guys.” Steve pulled out some stuff from Bucky’s bag. Steve handed Nev and Max pencil drawings of the hosts.

“Wow!” 

“This is incredible. Thank you!”

“Least I could do for you guys sending this guy.” Steve tilted his head. Bucky rolled his eyes.

The group stopped for a moment as an announcement was being made. “That’s our flight being called. Steve it’s been an honor.” Nev and Max both said their goodbyes to Steve with big hugs. The hosts would never admit it but this was one of their favorite episodes to make.

Nev and Max waited by the gate but could still see Bucky and Steve in the distance.

“Are you going to make fun of me if I say that I already miss you?” Steve was playing with Bucky’s fingers that were in his hand.

“Only if you don’t think it’s too soon for me to say I don’t want to go.”

“You don’t have to.” Steve moved closer to Bucky. “It’s been seven years and having one perfect day together isn't enough.”

“A perfect day wouldn’t have started like the one we had” 

“True but we could always try.” Steve was almost pleading with his sad blue eyes.

Bucky could feel all the emotions rising in his throat. He put his hand on Steve’s heart. “We waited seven years to finally do this despite the obstacles. We can wait a little longer to figure out what would be best long term.”

“My heart is saying if you get on the plane things will change.”

“Steve if I stay or leave things will change. I can’t just ignore my life back in Indiana. My job, my sister, my house is there. If this thing between us is going to work out I need to figure us out without so many emotions. It’s been a crazy few days.”

“Yeah it has been.”

Steve leaned his forehead on Bucky’s. 

Bucky wrapped his hand around Steve’s neck and pulled him into a needy kiss. “I’m not giving you up Rogers.”

“I was getting worried for a minute there.”

“This isn’t easy. I just don’t want to pretend like this is going to be easy and a fairytale for either of us. I’m still kinda mad at you.”

“I know.”

“And I still love you.” Bucky locked eyes with Steve.

“I know. I love you too.”

“We’ll talk and text.”

“And FaceTime.” Steve added

“Yes because I want to see your ugly mug more.”

“I suppose I can stand looking at yours.”

“It’s going to be rough.”

The overhead system went off again about another message about Bucky’s flight.

“That is my cue to leave…” Bucky glanced at the planes outside with a heavy heart.

“Ok. Have a safe flight...and call me when you land so I know you got there ok.”

Bucky nodded.

The two men stood there in an awkward moment. Neither one sure what to do. Should they hug, kiss, say goodbye, reassure the other, or act like nothing was happening.

Bucky choked down the insecurity and pulled Steve into a hot and heavy kiss. Steve was getting lost in the kiss but Bucky pulled away. Steve almost whimpered at the loss of Bucky’s lips.

Bucky grabbed his bag from the floor. “Bye Steve.”

Steve rubbed his lip with his thumb. “Bye Buck.”

Bucky nodded and made his way to the gate.

\---

*Two Months Later*

The skype call connected.

“Hey!” Nev and Max yelled at their computer.

“Hey guys!” Bucky cheered back.

“You look good!” Bucky had cut his hair short and had a tan with perfect stubble.

“Haha thanks.”

“So how are things with you and Steve?”

“They’re good. We’re still close. We talk everyday.”

“That’s good! Have you guys made plans to meet up?”

“Not recently. We had talked about it when we first got back but now it hasn’t been a priority.”

“Ah that sucks. Is Steve seeing someone?”

“I think he might have someone but you would have to ask him.”

“That kinda sucks we were really rooting for you two.”

“It’s ok I’m happy. I think I’ve gotten my life on the right path.”

“Well it was great to see you Buck. We’ll be in touch!”

“Can’t wait. Bye!”

The skype call disconnected.

“God I really wanted those two to be together. They were perfect.”

“Well not every story gets a happy ending.” Nev explained more to himself than to Max. Nev was pulling for them too.

“Let’s call Steve and see what’s going on with him.”

The skype call connected.

“Hey!” The two hosts said not as enthusiastically as they did with Bucky.

“Hey guys!” Steve’s hair was a bit longer and he was wearing glasses.

“You look well.” Max complimented.

“Oh thanks.”

“So how are things with you?”

“They’re going really well actually. I started publishing my very own comic.”

“What?! That’s incredible!”

“It’s online only but it’s still pretty exciting, it keeps me busy.”

“And what about Bucky? Are you guys still tight?”

“Yeah we talk everyday.”

“He said that you were dating someone.”

“I wouldn’t call it dating at this point…” Steve beat around the bush.

“Are you just hanging out or?”

“Or…” Steve lifted his left hand to the camera.

“Is that a wedding ring?!” Nev’s mind was blown.

Steve’s smile spread across his face.

“Steven Rogers tell us what is going on!” Max ordered through his laugh.

“It’s actually an engagement ring.”

“What happened? At the airport it seemed like you and Bucky were looking like it could happen.”

“Well Bucky wasn’t too sure about us because of how emotional the whole thing was. He wanted to see how things went. And well things just kind of happened.”

“And you met someone else?” Nev asked. He was kind of annoyed at the half answer Steve gave.

“Do you want to meet him?” Steve asked.

“Yeah we’d love to.” Nev and Max shared a look. 

“Babe can you come here a minute? Some friends of mine want to meet my fiance!” Steve called into the apartment. “You guys are going to love him.”

Steve moved his chair and another chair got put next to him.

“Oh I already know these guys.” Bucky sat down next to Steve.

“Oh my God!”

“Biggest Catfish plot twist ever!” Max yelled.

Bucky leaned his head on Steve’s shoulder. “Told you this would be hilarious.” He was smiling like the devil.

“We still need an explanation!”

“Once Bucky got back we literally texted and FaceTimed pretty much non stop.”

“My sister was giving me so much shit for being on my phone way too much.” Bucky rolled his eyes.

“And my friends wouldn’t quit either. So we quickly realized we needed to do this right.”

“Since I used to live in Brooklyn and Steve was there. I sold my house and moved in with him.”

“We got engaged that weekend and I’m beyond excited to start my life with him.” Steve tilted Bucky’s head and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“Oh my God! This is like the greatest ending ever.” Nev was ecstatic.

“I’m in shock but so happy for you guys!” Max was thrilled beyond words.

“Do you have a date set for the wedding?” Nev asked.

“We are planning for next May.” Bucky explained.

“And we want you both to be in the wedding!” Steve bursted.

“We’d love to!”

“We were thinking that Max you could be the ring bearer.” Steve pointed to him at the screen. “And Nev you could be the flower girl.”

The group all busted up laughing yet again. 

“I do look stunning in peach.” Nev offered.

“We’ll keep that in mind when we pick out your dress.” Bucky teased.

“I literally cannot wait for this!” Nev was bouncing with excitement.

“Well we are glad that everything has worked out for you two and we are very excited to be there for the nuptials.” Max emoted.

“Speak to you guys soon.” Nev added.

“Bye!” Steve and Bucky both waved at the screen.

The call disconnected.

\---

Next time on MTV’s Catfish.

Jane’s voice: He said his name is Thor and that he’s a model who travels all around the globe. But when I ask to FaceTime he always says that his front camera is broken. Why wouldn’t he buy a new phone?

The brunette sat there on the couch crying. “I’m sick of his lies. That’s all he does is lie, lie, lie, lie...”

Nev and Max both groaned after loading a page on the computer screen. “How did he even pull this off?”

“Loki Odinson. This might be the biggest trickster we’ve ever encountered.”


End file.
